4-14-17
THERE WERE CHEERS AND TEARS OF JOY YESTERDAY WHEN THE LAFAYETTE HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING BAND LEARNED THAT THEY WILL BE IN THE 2018 MACY’S THANKSGIVING PARADE IN NEW YORK CITY. THEY ARE ONE OF TWELVE COLLEGIATE, HIGH SCHOOL AND MILITARY BANDS NATIONWIDE THAT WILL BE IN THE PARADE. BAND DIRECTOR SCOTTY WALKER ALONG WITH WESLEY WHATLEY, CREATIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE MACY’S PARADE, MADE THE SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT IN THE SCHOOL AUDITORIUM DURING CLASSES. WHATLEY TOLD THE ADVOCATE NEWSPAPER THAT THEY WERE IMPRESSED WITH THE BAND’S ABILITY TO TELL A STORY THROUGH MUSIC AND MARCHING IN A WAY THAT “IS JUST SECOND-TO-NONE.”
A STATE TROOPER FROM BEAUREGARD PARISH, WHO WAS FIRED IN MARCH OF LAST YEAR, HAS REACHED A SETTLEMENT WITH THE LOUISIANA STATE POLICE COMMISSION. RONALD PICOU WAS FIRED AFTER EVIDENCE WAS FOUND OF ALLEGED PAYROLL FRAUD AND NEGLECT OF DUTY. STATE POLICE RECEIVED COMPLAINTS THAT PICOU WORKED SECOND JOBS AND TOOK NAPS WHILE HE WAS WORKING. UNDER THE TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT REACHED YESTERDAY MORNING, STATE POLICE AGREED TO WITHDRAW THE LETTER OF TERMINATION AND PICOU WILL SUBMIT HIS RESIGNATION.
FIVE TEENAGERS FROM ST. LANDRY PARISH WERE ARRESTED FOR THE THEFT OF TWO HORSES FROM DOMINQUE’S STOCKYARD ON APRIL FOURTH. THE HORSES WERE FOUND BUT APPEARED TO BE PHYSICALLY ABUSED. STATE AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER MIKE STRAIN SAYS FOUR OF THE TEENAGERS ARE IN JUVENILE DETENTION WHILE ONE HAS BEEN RELEASED TO HIS PARENTS. THE TEENS, WHO ARE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 13 AND 16, FACE SEVERAL CHARGES INCLUDING THEFT OF LIVESTOCK AND AGGRAVATED CRUELTY OF ANIMALS, WHICH ARE FELONIES.
The company chosen to manage Louisiana’s $1.3 billion flood aid program for homeowners is the same firm that was earlier selected for the work and then saw its contract scrapped and the bid process redone. Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Thursday that IEM was selected to oversee the program. The governor says reopening the bid process resulted in lower contract costs — though Edwards’ office didn’t immediately say what the contract’s estimated price tag will be. Money for the homeowner program comes from $1.6 billion in block grant aid allocated by Congress to help Louisiana recover from the March and August 2016 floods.
A GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY WAS HELD YESTERDAY FOR A NEW LIBRARY THAT WILL BE GOING UP AT L. LEO JUDICE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN LAFAYETTE. PRINCIPAL MIA LEMAIRE TELLS THE ADVERTISER THAT THE NEW LIBRARY WILL BE TWICE AS BIG AS THE CURRENT LIBRARY, WHICH WILL BE TRANSFORMED INTO A COLLABORATION LAB AND OFFICE SPACE. IT’S THE FIRST MAJOR CONSTRUCTION AT JUDICE ELEMENTARY IN DECADES. THE SCHOOL BOARD ALLOCATED 975 THOUSAND DOLLARS LAST WEEK FOR THE PROJECT, WHICH COMES FROM EXISTING FUNDS.
A federal judge, whose unusual behavior preceded her mysterious removal from a string of cases, was ordered to get treatment for alcoholism so severe a colleague believes she cannot take care of herself. Court records released Thursday say the chief judge for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi of Louisiana to complete at least 90 days of substance abuse treatment due to the severity of her alcoholism. Minaldi has been on medical leave since December. Minaldi is the only district court judge assigned to the Lake Charles Division.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY KEITH STUTES HAS FILED A PETITION AGAINST SMILE, THE ST. MARTIN IBERIA LAFAYETTE COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY, FOR VIOLATING OPEN MEETINGS LAWS. THE PETITION WAS FILED AFTER A COMPLAINT BY FORMER BOARD MEMBER AFRICA ARCENEAUX, WHO SAYS SHE WAS REMOVED BECAUSE SHE REFUSED TO VOTE FOR THE CURRENT C-E-O CHRIS WILLIAMS. STUTES, IN THE PETITION, SAYS THE VIOLATIONS OF THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW MAKES THE HIRING OF THE C-E-O VOIDABLE. IN RESPONSE, THE SMILE BOARD HELD AN EMERGENCY MEETING WEDNESDAY AND VOTED 11-TO-4 TO HIRE WILLIAMS, WITH THE DECISION RETROACTIVE TO JANUARY NINTH.
A trio of state legislators, with law enforcement backgrounds, are suggesting Louisiana should end its use of the death penalty. Rep. Terry Landry, a Democratic former state police superintendent from New Iberia, thinks the penalty is barbaric, unevenly applied, with too many cases overturned. Sen. Dan Claitor, a Republican former prosecutor, cites moral objections because of his Catholic faith while Rep. Steve Pylant, a Republican former sheriff, says if Louisiana can’t get the execution drugs to carry out the punishment, it shouldn’t waste millions on death penalty cases. Their proposal would eliminate the death penalty as a punishment for any offenses committed on or after Aug. 1.
